


What Lives in the Shadows

by dorky_demonthing (Kaiju_Kueenie)



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Constantly Evolving Creatures, Creatures with Body Manipulation, Dark-fic, Demon Hive Mind, Demons, Extreme Gore, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-13 13:16:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9125362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiju_Kueenie/pseuds/dorky_demonthing
Summary: They have slept. They have waited. Now something has changed. Now they awaken. Now they feed.Some secrets are best left unearthed.-Rated M for gore and language-





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of fanfics here have been sweet, shipping things. Let's change that up, shall we? >:3 I'm making the first dark story here~ I'm not going to reveal too much about the plot though. You'll have to keep reading if you want to learn what's going on~

_ The smell of fear and salty sweat was thick in the air, exciting the beast’s senses.  Long, pointed ears, perfectly evolved to hear the quietest of noises, twitched as the sound of labored breathing reverberated into the thick membranes that swiveled to pinpoint the location of the panicked noise. _

 

_ So  _ **_that’s_ ** _ where it was.  _

 

_ The prey screamed, though it was a brief sound, as its skeletal hand shot over the counter she had been hiding behind and grabbed ahold of her face. Black flesh with a quality not unlike tar, shimmered a slimy sheen as the flashing ‘ _ **_CLOSED_ ** _ ’ neon light sign repeatedly flashed from the window outside. The cause of the waitress’ sudden silence came from the two long fingers and a smaller thumb, each tipped with ivory claws like knives- the two longest fingers went straight into her open mouth, piercing the back of her skull in a steady stream of crimson and chunks of torn flesh and muscle. _

 

_ It morbidly savors the sound of her vertebrae cracking as it firmly rips its digits free, crawling around the barrier on all fours to reach its meal.  _

 

_ The first order of business is the  _ **_soul_ ** _. It tilts its head horizontally, clamping it jaws around her face in a twisted kiss of death. Its jagged teeth pierce through the delicate tissue of her cheeks and the sweet, metallic taste of human blood dances along his tongue.  _

 

_ And the soul…. _ **_Oh, the soul_ ** _. _

 

_ But the treasure is not for it. It sucks the blue aura out quickly, storing it in an internal pouch for  _ **_her_ ** _.  _ **_She_ ** _ has just awakened and she is tired and hungry.  _

 

**_She comes first. She is the top priority._ **

 

_ With the soul safely removed, it  _ **_digs_ ** _ in. Teeth rip apart the tender flesh beneath it and it feeds, feeds for the first time in thousands of years. Flesh, muscle, organs, bones- it devours all in a frenzy until there is nothing left but a few stray hunks of meat and a massive puddle of blood that pools around its claws. It carefully cleans them with a frighteningly long purplish, pointed tongue before taking its leave out the diner’s glass doors, one which has been ripped off its hinges and tossed carelessly aside and in mess of broken glass and bent metal. _

 

_ Two of its kin, who had been feasting on the rest of the night staff, follow immediately and they hiss and garble amongst each other in their animalistic language. Since they surfaced, they noted the strange smell. A smell that’s vaguely familiar, but soaks into every little corner of these streets like a plague. It makes them uneasy...and  _ **_angry_ ** _. _

 

**_She_ ** _ calls to them through the mind link, impatient and aggravated. They scurry past the sign ‘ _ **_ARCADIA OAKS_ ** _ ’ in haste to quench her primal hunger, soon sinking into the ground as if they are a thick fluid, a kind of tar that resembles their very flesh until there is nothing more than shadows on the ground, dancing about like fiery wisps before they fully disappear. _

  
**_They will be the dominant species once again._ **


	2. Unease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's physically impossible for me to write long chapters. ;-;

Jim knows something’s wrong when he heads downstairs for his usual morning routine and his mother is awake before him, despite having previously worked all night.

 

She’s standing in front of the television, her eyes glued to the screen so he can’t see her expression of mortification yet. Her hands knead the paper bag -she made him lunch, no doubt- in her hands anxiously, turning her knuckles pale.

 

He suddenly feels thick tension that looms in the air and swallows the forming lump in his throat.

 

“Mom...what’s going on?” The redheaded woman spun around with a gasp, slapping a hand over her heart.

 

“Jim...you scared me!” She lets out a small laugh but there’s no humor in it. It’s an _excuse_.

 

He crosses his arms and repeats his question sternly, though concern shines through his blue eyes. “Mom. **_What’s going on_ **.” She falters, biting her bottom lip before relenting.

 

“Something...very bad happened today…”

 

She starts hesitating again, but when he quirks an eyebrow she quickly rushes it out.

 

“There was a series of murders last night in the diner down the street.”

 

His heart drops into his stomach and he suddenly feels sick. He knows the place. It was just some little diner that he and Toby would usually go to if they got out of school early and had some spare change. But he can’t tell if what’s making him nauseous is that for the first time in his sixteen years of life in Aracadia there’s been a _murder_ , or the fact that there was **more than one**.

A mother holds her mortified son close, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll drive you to school today.”

 

-

 

Aaarrrgghh felt his fur bristle, a feeling of dread creeping up the back of his spine that causes his entire body to shiver.

“Are you okay, my large friend?” The smaller, six eyed Troll asks, taking note of his companion’s condition. Aaarrrgghh nods, scratching his fingers through the thick green fur on the back of his head. “Okay…Just…Weird feeling…”

 

Vendel, who is nearby, turns away. _He feels it too_.

 

-

 

The school is ablaze with frightened whispers about the slaughter. Coach Lawrence  patrols the school grounds, undoubtedly keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. _Principal_ Strickler gives one of those standard speeches about safety protocols but for some reason, Jim senses that his concern isn’t _real_.

 

“I’m telling you guys, there’s gotta be something supernatural about this!” Toby exclaims as they walk through the halls to their next class. Claire nudged his shoulder roughly, hushing him.

 

“It’s definitely something we can’t rule out.” The Trollhunter stated, tapping a finger against his chin.

 

“So what are we gonna do?” Claire asked.

 

“...I think I have an idea…” And with that, Jim pulls his friends close, whispering the infantile plan he has in store.

 

-

_They crawl upon her, swarming like ants and pushing against each other to reach her massive maw. It gapes and they spew the blue mists of life into her, giving her **life**. _

 

_She stirs, her bones creaking as she begins to break herself out of the slimy walling that served as her coffin for years. Her spawn scatter away from her, avoiding the crushing weight of her massive form, her dual rows of spines ripping free from the resin, trailing thick strands of grimy slime behind them._

 

_Her body is illuminated by the round sacks that stick to the wall, containing the embryos of the generation. They dim when she rips the fat tendrils, like umbilical cords, off of herself, denying them her own DNA that will cause them to grow and casting them into a state of suspended animation._

 

 _The Queen wobbles on her legs like a newborn fawn. Memories seep into her mind- some important to her, and others she wishes she had forgotten. But most of all, she can_ **_taste_ ** _it._

 

_There’s a thick **sense** that hangs heavy in their dank lair. It reeks of hatred, disease, violence and chaos. It draws them like flame draws a moth. She grows excited, slapping her subjects aside as she lowers to all fours and charges to the opening. _

 

**_Isn’t it wonderful that someone conjured up a gateway for them?_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


	3. Bad Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it begins...

_Don't go out tonight,_

_Well, it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise._

_-_ **Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival**

~

“Well Master Jim, there are many creatures that could have been responsible for this kind of tragedy! Stalklings, Dragons, Wilops, Minotaurs,”

“Blinky.”

“Kelpies, Tort-Torts, Chimeras-”

“Blinky.”

“Gumm-Gumms are another option, but the only one that would be allowed to roam in this realm is Bular, but of course you killed him, so-”

“Blinky!”

The blue Troll stopped counting on his many fingers and blinked all six of his eyes at the teenage Trollhunter.

“My apologies, Master Jim. It’s just...the description of the murders...Why it could be almost anything!”

Jim sighed, placing both his hands upon the table as he finally gave up flipping through all the old books and ancient scriptures (though Aaarrrgghh was still reading, an innocent smile on his face as he helped) and looked back at his mentor. “I know…”

“Perhaps it _could_ just be a human murderer.”

“It could be, but I just...have this weird feeling that it’s not. And that’s why we’re doing the stake-out tonight.”

Aaarrrgghh looked up from the printed words at the mention of food and licked his lips. “Mmmh...Steak.”

“ _You shouldn’t get involved in this._ ”

The three jumped at the sound of Vendel’s voice, who was standing in the entrance to the library with his staff clutched tightly in his hand. There was...an odd look on the elder Troll’s face, a kind of emotion Jim couldn’t quite recognize.

But he could still tell it was something **bad**.

Jim opened his mouth to ask what Vendel was talking about, _and how he even knew what this was about_ , but as the first syllable left him, Vendel had _left_.

“Vedel, wait!” He rushed out of the library and quickly stopped. The leader of Troll Market had disappeared into the crowd.

**Now he was sure something was really wrong.**

\---

“You guys don’t have to do this, you know.”

Toby gave an ‘pfft’ of mock indignation, placing his hands on his hips as he hopped off his bike. “Come on dude! I’m your best friend! I’m totally helping you with this.” The chubby boy gave the other teen one of his classic grins. “Besides, this is, like, some cool detective stuff right here!”

Jim let out a small laugh at Toby’s excitement, dismounting from his Vespa and offering a hand to Claire, who had hitched a ride, like a gentleman. It was only _this_ time that Toby decided he wouldn’t tease his pal for the light pink that dusted his cheeks as their hands touched.

“And we can’t just let you do this alone.” Claire said.

“I wouldn’t be alone. Aaarrrgghh, Blinky and Draal will be helping. I don’t want you  to get in trouble for being out this late” That little blush was back. “...and I definitely don’t want you to get hurt.”

The Latino smirked, twirling the shadow staff around in her hands. “I think we can handle ourselves.”

\---

It was 11:00 PM when they met up with their Troll friends on main street and split into groups - Claire, Toby and Aaarrrgghh were to patrol the West of town while Jim -though he silently protested that he should be with Claire- was paired with Draal and Blinky to take care of the East.

But it was 1:00 AM when **it** happened.

“Toby…?” Claire asked, her tone having an edge of unease. The boy yawned in response, rubbing his eyes. “What is it?” The three of them, tired, but still dedicated to the cause, were traveling down an alley that was only illuminated by flickering street lamps.

“... _What’s wrong with your shadow_?”

Toby whirled around to the brick wall, and amongst the flickering lights there was a shadow...but it wasn’t that of a short, chubby teen.

**The lanky, inhuman shadow reached its arms out…right out of the wall.**

\---

_The scout emerged from the Dark Place, the realm between realms that their species had been born to travel through, confronting the two meat things and the stone beast._

_She roared, a horrid noise that sounded like metal rubbing against each other to create a screech, the reptilian hiss of a crocodile, and the roar of some unholy beast all wrapped up into one. The call rippled through the alleyway, reaching its target as the two males that had accompanied her crawled out of the Dark Place and to her side._

_She was bigger than them. Females were always bigger than males, but females were rare now. It was only the Queen that could reproduce ~~and down deep inside of her, it didn’t feel~~ _ ~~**_right_** _. The Queen wasn’t even female. Or male. It was an IT that just kept creating and creating_ ~~

~~~~

_The old instinct faded from her mind and she began to stalk towards the prey, drawn by the heavy stench of fear that radiated off of them._

_She was bathed in moonlight._

**\---**

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?!” Toby screamed, hiding behind Aaarrrgghh’s massive arm as the Troll growled protectively. What just came out of _where his shadow was supposed to be_ was a creature he had never seen before. There were three of them, things covered in black _skin(?)_ that seemed to ripple and twitch like a liquid, but was also solid at the same time. While two of them were on all fours, the one in the middle was standing on its long, skinny, double jointed legs, making it about the height of Aaarrrgghh.

The thing was **_incredibly_ ** bony, its ribs jutting out and its stomach almost appeared to be collapsing upward into its somewhat visible spine. At the end of those inhuman legs were rounded feet with four curved, talon like claws on each one. It’s arms were equally long and thin, attached to hands with only three fingers, two long and bony and one short thumb, each tipped with sharp, ivory claws. A long tail swayed behind its body, with two curved, pincer-bones on the sides of the tip.

And seated on top of the body was a rounded head with two elongated ears, pointed and raised. The creature’s snout protruded slightly, but not as much as a cat or a dog, with two slits for nostrils. The eyes, partly facing forward and partly facing the side, were like large orbs of light. But what stuck out was the _individuality_. The big one had glowing green eyes, with large white pupils, glowing almost as brightly, while the other two had an eye color of yellow and blue.

The thing snarled, lips curling back to reveal purple gums and teeth that were big and sharp enough to snap bones. Saliva poured from the ugly beast’s mouth as it hissed at them, flaring out a huge pair of bat-like wings that had been folding against its back, and allowing the black spikes along its spine to stand erect...Then it pounced.

There was screaming...but death never came. Instead, there was a flash of blue and silver and the large creature had been sliced in half.

And there was Jim, standing in front of his friends in full battle mode, his sword dripping with black...blood?

The two smaller creatures hissed, taking a few cautious steps back. The severed body gurgled, twitching spastically as it crawled around to its lower half and began to **_eat_ ** _its own purple organs while its black flesh began to reattach_. The act of self cannibalism made the Trollhunter gag, and while disgusted, Blinky watched with interest. He had never seen anything like this before...yet there was a familiar tingle in the back of his head.As the blood on the sword hit the ground, it began to return back to its own body. “What a _remarkable_ creature…” The multi-eyed Troll breathed.

Then the thing looked at Jim and _smiled_ , its own intestines hanging out of its mouth, caught on its jagged jaws as it _smiled so wickedly and almost knowingly at him_. Instantly he screamed and began to slam the sword repeatedly into the creature’s body as it desperately tried to repair itself. The smaller ones flared out their wings, getting into an attack position...but stopped..and suddenly fled. Jim didn’t notice. He didn’t stop bringing the sword down when it let out a wet noise, or when it stopped moving. He only stopped when Claire grabbed his arm. “Jim. Stop.”

Shaking, he did stop to her words. These things ate people and they ate themselves...This was so fucked up. But...he needed to know what their purpose here was.

Draal snorted, staring at the mangled, oozing corpse while placing a hand on the Trollhunter’s shoulder. “Let’s get you all home. You’ve been through enough tonight...We’ll come back and clean up this...mess before dawn.”

No one protested.

\---

 _She watched the entire time. He looked familiar, the silver one. He looked like happiness and sadness to her, but it was a_ **_good feeling_** _. That’s why she called back two of her brood as they were about to attack._

_She loved him and hated him for what he did, so she had to be the one to kill him, to crawl inside him and tear him apart from the inside._

_Her body hit the concrete with a heavy thud, the two males crawling around her feet as she stared at the remains of the female that had failed. She was still trying to repair herself. What a trooper._

_The Queen tore her apart and ate her._

_Just because she was_ **_hungry_ ** _. Besides, it would take too long for her to heal. She wasn’t useful anymore, so she was invalid._

_Licking her lips, she clamored up the buildings once again, her demonic form silhouetted by the massive full moon, heading to the_ **_new nest_** _. Soon the attack would truly begin._

_For she did not forget._

**  
_And she did not_ **_forgive_  ****

**_~_ **

_Hope you got your things together._  
_Hope you are quite prepared to die._  
_Looks like we're in for nasty weather._  
**_One eye is taken for an eye._ **


	4. Centuries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the wonderful feedback! 4th chapter is here, and we finally get a bit of an origin story! By the way, I have a sequel planned for this story when I finish it. I won't give anything away, but it will be called Shelter.

_Some legends are told,_  
_Some turn to dust or to gold,_  
_But you will remember me,_ _  
_ Remember me for centuries

                                             - **Centuries, Fall Out Boy**

~

**_“Hi! Mine name’s ~~Ɔ̛̳̦̹̹̒̈́̋̐̿͟͞σ̴̵̹̰̳̠̻̲͚ͪ̉͗͗̌͞ͅℓ̸̯̥̺̪̙̱̘̝͐͋̍ͨ͌̌̌̀в͇͎̺̱ͣ͛͂̀ἁ̛͓̰͓̙̜̮̗͞и̛͎͕͋́~~ What’s your name?”_ **

 

**_“.....My name is ~~Я̶̪͙̤͖̜̘̖ͪ̓̒ʋ̴̡̦͔ͦ̌ͬ̍ͧ̏͞в̑̀̓̈́ͫ҉͈̹͔̟͉̯̭ʏ̯̻̝̳̲͑ͤ̐ͪ̋ͫ̓ͥ̓̀ͅ~~ …”_ **

 

**_“Wanna be friends?”_ **

 

_She remembers how much she hates him._

 

\---

 

“ **NO.** ”

 

Vendel crossed his arms, leaning back against the cold, stone wall of the tavern with a cold glare in his glazed eyes.

 

A glare that was met with equal intensity by the human Trollhunter.

 

It has been three days since the group had their encounter with the strange creatures, and despite their uneasy nightly patrols, they couldn’t find any sign of the beasts...even the one they believed to had killed previously. They had become...suddenly very **sneaky** with their killings...if that’s what they were. Small amounts of people had gone missing, just suddenly _disappearing_ without a trace.

 

And Jim wanted to know what was up.

And it was clear that Vendel knew something, but was refusing to tell it. **_Why_ ** **?** Innocent people were dying out there and he wasn’t doing anything to help! It would be an **understatement** to say that Jim was angry with the older Troll.

 

“I told you. You shouldn’t have gotten involved in this.”

 

“And do what? Let my town get eaten by a bunch of monsters?” The teen snapped in response, though perhaps it was a tad bit harsher than he had meant it to be. “If this was a Gumm-Gumm invasion, you’d practically be cheering me on!”

 

They stared each other down for a few moments, blue eyes like oceans of ice boring into old, misty orbs that held secret knowledge. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh, watching from the sidelines, look at each other with anxious expressions.

 

When the defensive look softened in Vendel’s eyes, Jim knew he had won.

 

The elder took one more sip of his drink before he stood up, walking past the trio with a simple, emotionless “We can’t talk here. Follow me.”

 

_\---_

**_“Everyone in the village says you’re scary, but you seem pretty nice to me!”_ **

 

**_“................”_ **

 

**_“Did I say something wrong, ~~Я̶̪͙̤͖̜̘̖ͪ̓̒ʋ̴̡̦͔ͦ̌ͬ̍ͧ̏͞в̑̀̓̈́ͫ҉͈̹͔̟͉̯̭ʏ̯̻̝̳̲͑ͤ̐ͪ̋ͫ̓ͥ̓̀ͅ~~? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you…”_ **

 

**_“I do bad things...Can’t stop. Know one day I’ll do something bad to you.”_ **

 

**_“Don’t be silly, haha! We’ve been friends for this long and you’ve never hurt me!’_ **

 

**_“... ~~Friends~~ …”_ **

 

_She remembers how much she wants to hurt him._

_\---_

The book landed on the table with a heavy thud, and instantly Blinky was in love. It was so bulky, so thick with its worn cover and beautifully ancient yellow pages. Why, he couldn’t stop himself from snatching it up in one pair of his hands, taking in every little detail.

“I’ve **never** seen these symbols before! Or the cover material! Oh Vendel, where did you get this!”

Vendel ran his fingers along his crystalline staff before setting it aside. “It was passed down to me from Merlin himself…” His arm shot out, snatching the decrepit book from Blinky’s hands and began flipping it to the right page. “I’ll tell you all I know.”

 

~~~

_Back when the Earth was young, a massive, monstrous being of darkness came into existence. It was made from negativity- hatred, violence, greed, and everything bad. When it died, its body split apart and spread across the globe, planting the seeds of a dangerous species._

 

_Demons._

 

_There were different sub species, each adapting to where their seeds had landed, for example, the Demons of fire, Demons of ice and many more._

 

_But the most feared species, the deadliest of them all, were the Demons of the shadows_

 

_They were a proud, powerful race with the ability to **become** and **hide** in casted shadows, though they were very different compared then when you saw them those few days ago. They were led by an Alpha and preferred to keep to themselves mostly, hiding in the darkness of the realm in-between the ones of light and darkness. Occasionally, they would come up to hunt humans, though only the ones that had evil deep inside them and did horrible things. Demons, you see, are drawn to horrible actions and emotions, perhaps because that is how they were birthed into this world. _

 

 _They didn’t really bother Trolls, as they could not eat stone, and if they did, it would be a territorial dispute that could be settled fairly quickly. They weren’t animals. They were_ **_smart_ ** _creatures._

 

 _It changed when_ **_IT_ ** _was born._

 

_One day, a female Shadow Demon disguised herself as a human and infiltrated a human village. By pure chance, she happened to fall in love and conceive a child with one of the humans. However, she died giving birth to IT._

 

 _There is one thing Shadow Demons fear, and that is_ **_Half-Breeds_ ** _._

 

_Half-Breeds are worse than Changelings, as they a born with many deformities and mental and physical problems due to the difference in DNA. They rarely survive being born...and if they do, the demons, fearful of the abomination, abduct it, torture it, and destroy it themselves._

 

_Surprisingly, the Half-Breed that was born had no outward deformities -other then the deformed wings it had in its true form- but inside...besides have no reproductive organs, or anything that could show it had a gender, its brain was horribly deformed, rendering it insane and unstable. It would usually kill any animal that stumbled into its way._

 

 _Despite this, the father tried to raise it, naming it and trying to pass it off as a female to the other villagers. But when it reached the age of three, it_ **_ate_ ** _him. The overwhelming fear mixed with the scent of the abomination attracted the attention of its pure blooded kin, who came and took it away._

 

_I don’t know what tortures it went through, or how...but it escaped from wherever they had been keeping it three years later. It wasn’t welcomed back in the village by any means, despite its tryings...and it was eventually taken in by a rogue demon who had been caring for three spirits that had been turned into horrible beasts._

 

_The rogue, stern, smart, powerful and cruel, was able to figure out the Half-Breed’s patterns, and was able to raise it without any problems for herself._

 

_While given care, the adopted parent was usually distant. And this rendered the abomination with a feeling every living thing is cursed with._

 

**_Loneliness._ **

 

_One day, a little boy wandered out of the village and stumbled upon the Half-Breed and offered friendship. They laughed, they played, they told stories...Perhaps it was happy then, perhaps it enjoyed the company. Or maybe it was just doing its best to mimic the expressions and emotions it had seen when it had lived in the village._

 

 _But the inevitable happened and it_ **_killed_ ** _the boy._

 

_Something snapped then, and the beast ran away with the body...or what remained of it._

 

_Shortly after this, the rogue demon disappeared, blessing her spirit companions with godly powers, and was never seen again._

 

 _The abomination resurfaced a few years later, bigger, more psychotic and evolved. The first thing it did was return to the pure bloods, slaughtering the Alpha and taking control of the rest of the species. It_ **_made_ ** _them evolve, turning them into an insect like hive, with it as the ‘_ **_Queen_ ** _’ the only one who could reproduce, the one who could control them all, creating new, more powerful beasts from its own flesh._

 

_After this, it went on a rampage. Forests burned, animals and humans were slaughtered, villages were destroyed...including my own._

 

 _I witnessed it as a child, oh so long ago. There was no meaning behind it, no_ **_purpose_ ** _in those dead eyes. Only a deprived need to cause death and destruction. So many beings, supernatural and not, lost their lives over the course of a week…In fact, that’s why you’ve been feel those little chills. It had become a response in Trolls to tell when that threat was there...but without the danger it has practically faded away._

 

_Merlin came after that, and with a magic spell that has since been lost to us, he cast them below into the darkness, sending them into deep sleep for thousands of years…_

 

_Until now…_

\---

Vendel closed the book, staring down at the ink with a sigh. “And that is all I know…”

 

That...was a bit more than any of them were expecting. Jim’s stomach did a small flip and he swallowed. There was something so tragic about this...but also so horrible. All this started from one messed up...Demon.

 

“Do you have _any_ idea how to stop this?”

 

The elder, with his back turned to the trio as he placed the old book back in its place, responded slowly.

 

“No...but Merlin told me something on his deathbed.... _In case they rise once more, find the God of the gluttonous earth, the serpent of the sky, and the glass beast inside the frozen mind. Together, only_ **_Rage_ ** _can quell the bloodthirsty beast.”_

 

The young Trollhunter blinked, looking at Blinky and Aaarrrgghh for a moment before looking back at Vendel, his eyes narrowing in determination. “You wouldn’t happen to know where those ‘ _Gods_ ’ are, would you…?

\---

 

**_“Wake up.”_ **

 

**_“Wake up, ~~Ɔ̛̳̦̹̹̒̈́̋̐̿͟͞σ̴̵̹̰̳̠̻̲͚ͪ̉͗͗̌͞ͅℓ̸̯̥̺̪̙̱̘̝͐͋̍ͨ͌̌̌̀в͇͎̺̱ͣ͛͂̀ἁ̛͓̰͓̙̜̮̗͞и̛͎͕͋́~~.”_ **

 

**_“Please don’t leave me here alone…”_ **

 

**_“I...I didn’t mean to.”_ **

 

**_She buries the mangled pieces of his body under the tree they used to play in, hanging clumsily from the branches like the children they were._ **

 

**_She drops a Bluebell, as blue as his eyes, on top of the unmarked grave._ **

 

**_“I’m sorry…”_ **

 

_...But she also remembers how much she misses him._

 

~

 _And just one_ **_mistake_ **  
_Is all it will take_  
_We'll go down in history_ _  
_ **_Remember me_ ** for centuries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is our villain...a thing to sympathize with but also hate at the same time. Don't be fooled. This is still a tragic, but insane killer.


	5. Overbite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EXTREME GORE/VIOLENCE, MENTION OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND CHILD ABUSE AND MURDER. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF ANY OF THESE THINGS EFFECT YOU GREATLY.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: FINALLY! In other news, I'm looking for a beta reader, so hit me up if you're interested. Also be sure to read the warnings for the chapter summary.

_Who are you to change this world?_  
_Silly Boy!_  
_No one needs to hear your words._  
_Let it go._  
  
_Carnivore! Carnivore!_  
_Won't you come digest me?_ _  
_ Take away everything I am.

**\- Carnivore, Starset**

 

~

Joan _hated_ her daughter. Honestly, she should have just gotten an abortion after that moron at the club knocked her up. The woman took a heavy drag of her cigarette as the said five year old burst into the room.

 

The scent of drugs covered the room, seeping through the fibers of the carpet and soaking into the curling paint of the walls. It intensified the throbbing in her head as the child began to cry, sobbing about a monster in her closet. Damn kids always had to dream up monsters.

 

A quick slap mostly shut her up, save for a few sniffles. It always did.

 

“Get back to your room, you **ungrateful brat**!”

 

**Those would be the last words she ever said.**

 

\---

Clutching her stuffed bunny tight, Cindy cowered under her covers, watching the dim silhouette of a horrid figure emerge from her closet. Its clawed hands pulled open the sliding doors with a squeaking protest from the aged hinges. The thing emerged and passed her bed, heading towards the door.

 

Once it had disappeared into the other room, she, consumed by childish curiosity, slid out of her bed and over to the door, peering through the crack at what was beginning to unfold on the other side.

 

\---

_The scream, laced with shock and terror, pleasantly resonated through the young male. The female flesh thing squirmed and gasped as he grabbed her neck with one hand and ran his other along her stomach, teasing the soft skin with the tips of his claws._

_Such a despicable human this one was...He wondered just_ **_how ugly_ ** _she was on the inside. His claws sink inside of her and she makes a sweet noise that’s a hybrid of a groan and a gurgle as the red seeps from the wound in her stomach and trails simultaneously from her mouth. His tail comes forward while his hand retracts, spreading the opening wider with his pincers and scoops out her guts into his hungry jaws. It isn’t long before she becomes silent, but her pulse only stop fully when the hidden spike that had been sheathed in the tip of his tail shoots out, impaling her faintly beating heart like a shish-kabob._

 

 _He eats_ **_so_ ** _frantically, ripping into the rest of her, cracking open her skull and slurping up her brain, that he doesn’t smell the_ **_fear_ ** _until he’s full._

 

_There’s a juvenile flesh thing cowering behind the door. He lets out a snort, stalking over to her on his long legs and he notices how the smell gets stronger._

 

 _The Queen’s_ **_rules_ ** _, her_ **_law_ ** _is to_ **_kill everything_ ** _. Begin the extinction and watch this planet rot...He may be young, but something about all of this feels so wrong, so **abnormal** to him. She doesn’t reek of the vileness that her mother had. _

 

_So he spares the child, quickly fleeing the broken home to the nest where he knows he will receive punishment._

 

**_She knows everything._ **

\---

 

“-and a reminder that the school’s annual Lock-In will be occurring this Friday at six-”

 

Toby tunes Coach Lawrence out, shifting over to face Jim, who is nervously fiddling with his fingers. “So where are we going to find this... _gluttonous earth_ god?”

 

“Vendel said it was located somewhere in the Swamps of the Quagawumps. He said that since we’ve gained their trust, they’ll probably show us where it is.”

 

Toby quirked an eyebrow. “The Quagawumps know where the god is?”

 

“Apparently they worshipped him a long time ago, back before the Shattered King.”

 

The shorter boy let out a thoughtful hum. “We’re leaving right after school, aren’t we.”

 

Jim nodded. “The sooner we find the gods, the better.”

 

“I assume Claire’s coming then~” Toby teased, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows and puckering his lips before becoming serious again. “Speaking of which...where is Claire?”

 

“She has a doctor’s appointment today...so no, she can’t come.” The 16 year old sighed. “And I’m glad. I don’t know what this god will be like, so I’d rather not have her be there.”

 

“You really care about her, don’t you?”

 

“...Yeah. I do.”

 

\---

The swamp Trolls rejoiced at Toby’s return. While he might have not been their deceased king, he was still a dear friend to their people, so they were more than willing to show the group to such an ancient and sacred place. While Toby and many Wumpas exchanged stories that had happened since the last time they had seen each other, one Wumpa was kind enough to fill Jim in on the story of their god.

 

It had come to them a long time ago, drawn to the swampy lands and great feasts. At first they had attacked it, believing it to be some kind of trespasser...but its strength and immortality convinced them that it was a god. They began to coexist, building a temple for the god to live in and gave it massive offerings of food to keep it appeased...and also so it would not eat them. One day, it fell into a deep sleep and had not woken since. When Blungo became king, he desecrated the temple in fear of having competition for power...yet the god still slept. Perhaps it had abandoned them…

 

They reached the temple, something like an Aztec pyramid, covered in layers of dirt, grime and twisting vines. Half of one of the walls had been totally demolished by the dimwitted ex-king, leaving a large opening to the inside.

 

There were _what was left_ of two stone statues, as the top halves had been totally crushed. And right in-between them was a massive pool of thick, brown mud.

 

“I...assume your god is in there?” Blinky asked, pointing towards the mud. The nearest Wumpa nodded.

 

“And...how do we wake it up?” Jim asked, which was met with a shrug,

Jim sighed, then pulled the amulet out of his pocket. “Great…For the glory of Merling, daylight is mine to command!”

 

With a bright flash, the Trollhunter’s armor attached itself to his body as his sword place itself neatly in his hands...just in case. He almost wished Vendel was here to tell them what to do…

 

Then Aaarrrgghh nudged him, pointing at the amulet on his chest. “Glowing…” The massive Troll uttered, and indeed, it was glowing very brightly...but what was shocking was that it had changed from _blue_ to **_orange._ **

 

Jim gently pulled the magical item off his chest, studying it with his blue eyes. “Maybe this is the key…” So hesitantly, he extended the amulet out to the mud. The amulet flashed with orange light, acting like some kind of beacon before it began to dim into its usual blue color.

 

And the mud began to **bubble**.

 

The God rose up, mud dripping off his form, though it was hard to tell as his thick skin was the same brown color as the mud he had been sleeping in. It was a bulky thing, though not quite as bulky as a Troll, with a height equal to Aaarrrgghh’s. Its legs were like massive trunks, ending in rounded feet like an elephant, but lacked the rounded toes and instead had three triangular toes that were vertically flat, like paper. A long tail, covered in thick, armored plates on the topside, ended in three prehensile, finger like appendages. It had thick arms, ending in hands with five thin digits, like a human, with silver claws. The shoulders had thick plates of armor as well, with a pair of twisted, branch like spikes curling up from between them. Then came the head; It was huge, somewhat salamaderish and shaped somewhat like a rounded almond. He didn’t appear to have any nostrils, but for eyes...he had many. There were two main eyes, large and sunken in near the front of the head with black scleras and glowing orange irises in a very oval shape. The rest of the eyes that decorated the head were gelatinous orbs of orange, protruding up from the monster’s thick skin.

 

The God yawned, opening its massive mouth like a demonic venus fly trap. The lower jaw had three rows of needle like teeth and a visible tongue, with three forks on the tip, making it look somewhat like its tail. The top jaw... _ **Holy shit, the top jaw**_. It was nothing but endless rows of teeth to the point where nothing else could be seen.

 

The Wumpas quickly bowed, and with Blinky’s furious gesturing, so did everyone else.

One Wumpa stood, placing a hand over her heart as she approached the massive beast, smiling up to it. “Great God Overbite! Youngest of the three gods! We welcome you back after many years of slumber!”

 

Toby snickered. What kind of a name was Overbite. I mean, with the teeth it was kind of fitting, but still...was that really a **God’s name**? Blinky elbowed him and sharply whispered “The names were bestowed upon to them by the rogue demon as a placeholder but eventually stuck with them. Respect that.”

 

Overbite rubbed his stomach and whined like a small child. “ **I’m huuunnngrrryyy!** ”

 

Jim cleared his throat, standing up. “I’m sure you must be hungry after not eating after so long...but…” He hesitated as _all_ the eyes flickered over to him. He had gotten used to Blinky’s six eyes, but having around 20...that was a bit much.

 

“We were wondering if you could help us ward of the threat...The Shadow Demons are invading.”

 

The beast recoiled slightly at the word. **He remember her. Once he even called her sister.**

 

“ **And why should I help you?** ” He snorted, lowering onto all fours and waving about his tail.

 

Jim took a step back, while Aaarrrgghh growled at the threatening display, until Blinky placed a hand on his armored shoulder. “Master Jim here is the Trollhunter...I’m sure there’s something he can do for you.”

 

Overbite paused, standing up again. He had heard of the Trollhunters some time after their caretaker had left, but he had never encountered one.

 

“ **I’ll help you...if you agree to witness how I died…** ” That’s right...the gods were lost spirits. “ **No one knows how I died...I want...more people to know.** ”

 

The brunette swallowed, but took a deep breath to regain his composure. He could do this. Not only would he be helping this thing, but he would earn its help in the fight with the Demons. “Alright...I’ll do it.”

 

The amulet turned orange again and he was consumed in a bright light.

\---

_When the light faded, Jim lowered his arms from his face. He was in a house...a rather...modern looking house...perhaps from the 80s…? But why? Didn’t the spirits get killed centuries ago?_

 

**_The rogue demon exists out of time. She traveled through the timelines, collecting their wandering souls and giving them shelter._ **

 

_Jim jumped, looking down at his amulet. “Did you just...talk?”_

 

_No response. He must be going crazy._

 

_He then began to look around. The place seemed pretty...uncared for. Beer bottles decorated the floor along with clothes and trash. There were a few pictures that lined the walls, showing a man, woman and child...but as he went down the line it showed the woman’s health deteriorating._

 

_At the hospital, a tube covering her nose as she lay in the bed._

 

_Given her first treatment for cancer, causing a loss of hair while she hugged the crying boy._

 

**_The day of her funeral._ **

 

_Jim frowned. He couldn’t imagine losing his mother to something as deadly or as horrible as cancer._

 

_A sudden crash diverted his attention from the images as a boy stumbled out of a nearby room. He was thin, unhealthily so to the point where Jim couldn’t tell if the kid was being starved or was anorexic. Perhaps both. The child was about seven, and that made Jim very uneasy, wearing a little striped shirt and overalls, with large brown eyes filled with tears. His hair was a unique color, a odd mix of dull grey and violet that fanned out down by his neck. This was undoubtedly the child in the pictures._

 

_“I’m s-sorry Daddy, I-”_

 

_“I ain’t your real dad, you little shit!” A low voice snapped from within the room. “I’m sick of you knocking stuff over and interrupting my fucking shows!” An empty bottle flew from the room, missing the boy’s head and smashing against the wall. The boy let out a shriek and ran to the kitchen, right where Jim was, and curled up against the corner, burying his face into his knees and sobbing. It was heartbreaking to watch and as much as he wanted to comfort him, Jim knew this was just a memory._

 

_15 minutes later he witnessed a murder._

 

 _“_ **_O҉s҉c҉a҉r҉_ ** _….” The man’s shadow appeared over the boy. “Come here…” The small child looked up at the balding, rather overweight slob of a man who was holding a sledgehammer tightly in his drunken hands._

 

_His bloodshot eyes stared emotionlessly at his step-son, who began to realize what was about to happen, but reacted too late as the sledgehammer was brought down upon his skull...over...and over...and over...and over._

 

 _Jim slapped a hand over his mouth, trying to prevent from vomiting with each squelch of the brain and crack of the skull, even when there was nothing there but a headless child and a bit splatter of blood and greymatter against the wall. The man stopped and_ **_oh how Jim wanted to use the sword on him_ ** _...but his muscles felt like stone and all he could do was watch as the man dropped the hammer, dripping red, and dragged the body out to the garage…_

 

_The teen saw quick flashes of what happened as everything began to fade to black, when the spirit was resurrected- at the point he was in a state in-between monster and human- and gleefully devoured his abusive stepfather for revenge._

 

 _He probably should have felt happy that the man got what he deserved, but the two gruesome murders he just witnessed made him feel so_ **_fucking_ ** _ill._

\---

Jim fell to his hands and knees, crying and gagging as he tried not to vomit. His friends rushed to him, helping him stand and patting his back.

 

He looked at Overbite, who watching him indifferently. He wanted to say ‘ _I’m so sorry for what happened to you_ ’ but before he could say anything, the great beast lifted him up by the throat and grinned, letting out a childish, yet not fully _sane_ , laugh.

 

“ **I’ll help you~...Now get me a snack!~** ”

~

 _I will hide myself below_  
_I'll be what you wanted_  
_Kept inside I won't let go_  
_'Till I burn beyond control_  
  
_Who are you to change this world?_  
_Silly Boy!_  
_No one needs to hear your words._  
Let it go . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Each of the gods is the about the opposite of how they died.
> 
> Overbite was anorexic and now he can't stop eating. He has to eat EVERYTHING.
> 
> also the lock-in chapter will be fucking intense.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


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